Food and Nutrition Sciences, 2014, 5, 435-442

Published Online February 2014 (http://www.scirp.org/journal/fns)

http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/fns.2014.54051

The Role of Lactic Acid Bacteria in Milk Fermentation

Yantyati Widyastuti1, Rohmatussolihat1, Andi Febrisiantosa2
1
Research Center for Biotechnology, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Cibinong, Indonesia; 2Technical Implementation Unit for
Development of Chemical Engineering Processes, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Email: yantyati.widyastuti@lipi.go.id

Received December 3rd, 2013; revised January 3rd, 2014; accepted January 10th, 2014

Copyright © 2014 Yantyati Widyastuti et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution Li-
cense, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. In
accordance of the Creative Commons Attribution License all Copyrights © 2014 are reserved for SCIRP and the owner of the intel-
lectual property Yantyati Widyastuti et al. All Copyright © 2014 are guarded by law and by SCIRP as a guardian.

ABSTRACT
Species of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) represent as potential microorganisms and have been widely applied in food
fermentation worldwide. Milk fermentation process has been relied on the activity of LAB, where trans-
formation of milk to good quality of fermented milk products made possible. The presence of LAB in milk
fermentation can be either as spontaneous or inoculated starter cultures. Both of them are promising cultures to
be explored in fermented milk manufacture. LAB have a role in milk fermentation to produce acid which is
important as preservative agents and generating flavour of the products. They also produce exopolysaccharides
which are essential as texture formation. Considering the existing reports on several health-promoting properties
as well as their generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status of LAB, they can be widely used in the developing of
new fermented milk products.

KEYWORDS
Lactic Acid Bacteria; Milk Fermentation; Preservative; Flavour; Health

1. Introduction as to preserve the nutritious component of milk. It is also

Species of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) belong to numerous
genus under the family of Lactobacillaceae. They repre-
sent as potential microorganisms and have been widely
applied in food fermentation worldwide due to their well
known status as generally recognized as safe (GRAS)
microorganisms. They are also recognised for their fer-
mentative ability and thus enhancing food safety, im-
proving organoleptic attributes, enriching nutrients and
increasing health benefits [1-4]. Fermentation is general-
ly considered as a safe and acceptable preservation tech-
nology of food and fermentation using LAB can be ca-
tegorized into two groups based on the raw material used,
non-dairy and dairy fermentation. Milk from different
mammalian animals can be used in dairy fermentation to
produce several products. Milk of cow followed by milk
of goat and sheep are the most widely used raw materials
to produce particular economic value fermented milk
products worldwide. Due to the characteristics of milk
that is highly perishable, the main purpose of milk fer-
mentation using LAB is to prolong its shelf-life as well
recognised that fermentation of milk using LAB will un-
doubtedly produce good quality of products with highly
appreciated organoleptic attributes. Recently, there is a
growing interest to develop a variety of fermented milk
products for other beneficial purposes, particularly for
health purposes and preventing of toxins produced by
foodborne pathogens and spoilage bacteria that enter
human body [1,2,5,6]. The beneficial effects of fer-
mented milk products are produced by a variety of bioac-
tive compounds of LAB [7].
Lactic acid bacteria represent as the most extensively
studied microorganisms for milk fermentation [8-10].
The presence of LAB in milk fermentation can be either
as spontaneous or inoculated starter cultures. Milk itself
is known as one of the natural habitats of LAB [11,12].
Although under spontaneous fermentations the growth of
LAB can not be predicted or controlled, but this procedure
has been practised and carried out traditionally for years.
A procedure called as backslopping is often used. There
are some examples of fermented milk by LAB produced
under this procedure such as those of artisanal cheese

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436 The Role of Lactic Acid Bacteria in Milk Fermentation
klila [13], kumis [14], iben [15] and kurut [16]. In ge-
neral, the technology of milk fermentation is relatively
simple and cost-effective. On the other hand, stan-
dardized fermented milk products are produced and ma-
nufactured in large-scale production under controlled
conditions and become an important industrial applica-
tion of LAB as starter cultures. There are some important
features of LAB starters in fermented milk products. A
single potential starter culture will dominate and reduce
the diversity of microorganisms in fermented milk products
compare to that of products under natural fermentation.
In this review we focus on the potential role of LAB in
milk fermentation based on their properties that support
the development of fermented milk products.
2. Properties of Lactic Acid Bacteria
Milk fermentation process has been relied on the activity
of LAB, which play a crucial role in converting milk as
raw material to fermented milk products. In milk fer-
mentation industry, various industrial strains of LAB are
used as starter cultures. Starter cultures of LAB were ob-
tained from a sequence activities and passed a process of
isolation, selection and confirmation. Several behaviour
as the characteristics of each individual selected strains
of LAB has been established and used in the production
of fermented milk products industrially. The most impor-
tant properties of LAB are their ability to acidify milk
[17] and to generate flavour and texture, by converting
milk protein due to their proteolytic activities [7,18]. The
mild acid taste and pleasant fresh, are characteristics of
fermented milk products such as yoghurt and cheese.
2.1. Preservative Property of Lactic Acid
Bacteria
Milk and fermented milk products are favorable sub-
strates for the growth of microorganisms that may bring
to spoilage condition. The most well known charac-
teristics of LAB related to preservative property is their
ability to produce acid, which in turn exhibit antimic-
robial activity. Acidification of the milk protects the milk
against spoilage microorganisms and proliferation of
pathogens. LAB also release antimicrobial metabolites so
called bacteriocins [19]. Both acids and bacteriocins are
great potential to be used in food preservation, which are
considered as safe natural preservatives.
2.1.1. Acid Production
Organic acids is the end product of carbohydrate metabo-
lism produced by BAL. Homofermentative species of
LAB convert sugars in milk mostly into lactic acid,
whereas the heterofermentative species convert lactose
into lactic acid, acetic acid, ethanol and CO2. Production
of lactic acid by LAB is strain dependend. The newly
OPEN ACCESS
identified Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei
CHB2121 was reported to produce high concentrations
of L (+)-lactic acid efficiently. It produced 192 g/L lactic
acid from medium containing 200 g/L of glucose, with
3.99 g/(L.h) productivity, and 0.96 g/g yield. In addition,
the optical purity of the produced lactic acid was estima-
ted to be 96.6% L(+)-lactic acid. This strain may be sui-
table for use in the industrial production of lactic acid
[20]. A study using 10 strains of Lactobacillus showed
that organic acid production was considerably influenced
by media used. Three different media including skimmed
milk, de Mann Rogosa Sharpe (MRS) broth and Jeru-
salem artichoke were used. The highest acidity was ob-
tained in MRS broth and the weakest acidification was
found in skimmed milk. Lactobacillus casei Shirota pro-
duced the highest and Lactobacillus rhamnosus VT1 the
lowest amount of substances being estimated as titratable
acidity. The study pointed at the dissimilarity of organic
acid production of Lactobacillus strains [21]. Two Lacto-
coccus lactis strains were studied for their ability to
repress the growth of bacterial pathogens. The study
showed that L. lactis subsp. lactis biovar. diacetylactis
strongly inhibits the pathogenic E. coli and Salmonella
enteritidis strains tested. The main inhibitory effect
seemed to be associated with fast acid production which
resulted in rapid pH reduction. Given these good attri-
butes of L. lactis subsp. lactis biovar. diacetylactis, it can
be recommended for use as a starter culture, preferably
as a freeze-dried culture, to prepare cultured milk similar
to naturally fermented milk [22].
In a yoghurt preservation period experiment and
mould-proof accelerated testing at 4˚C, addition of 2%
(v/v) Lactobacillus casei AST18 in yogurt completely
inhibited the growth of Penicillium sp., which was used
as indicator fungi. L. casei AST18 produced lactic acid
and cyclo-(Leu-Pro) as antifungal compounds. The addi-
tion of L. casei AST18 improved the quantity of Lacto-
bacillus, but the number of Streptococcus lactis in 2%
AST18-added yoghurt decreased by 1.0 Log (cfu/mL)
compared with that in the blank group. Direct use of anti-
fungal strains as protective cultures presents important
application value to the food industry [23]. LAB from
raw milk of cow, goat and ewe are detected to have
antifungal activity against 4 spoilage fungi, Penicillium
expansum, Mucor plumbeus, Kluyveromyces lactis and
Pichia anomala. Raw milk of cow and goat can be con-
sidered as reservoir of antifungal LAB. The most active
colonies with antifungal activity belonged to Lactoba-
cillus spp. It is suggested that their apparent speciali-
zation may be linked to organic acids and/or ethanol pro-
duced, and the tested fungi are sensitive to those mole-
cules. Acetic acid produced by heterofermentative Lacto-
bacilli certainly played a role in antifungal activity [11].
FNS
 The Role of Lactic Acid Bacteria in Milk Fermentation
2.1.2. Bacteriocins Production
Bacteriocins are substances of protein structure, either
proteins or polypeptides, that possessing antimicrobial
activities and produced during the primary phase of bac-
terial growth. Generally bacteriocins only active against
closely related bacterial species. Most of LAB bacterio-
cins are small (<10 kDa) cationic, heat-stable, amphiphi-
lic and membrane permeabilizing peptides. Bacteriocins
of LAB can be divided into 3 classes, 1) lantibiotics,
small (<5 kDa) heat stable of peptide substances that
contain the characteristic polycyclic thioether amino
acids lanthionine or methyllanthionine, as well as the un-
saturated amino acids dehydroalanine and 2-aminoisobu-
tyric acid; 2) non-lantibiotics, small (<10 kDa) relatively
heat stable, non-lanthionine containing membrane active
peptides; and 3) bacteriocins, heat labile proteins which
are in general of large molecular weight (>30 kDa) [19].
Bacteriocins can be used as partially purified or purified
concentrates and supplemented to food products, al-
though he application of bacteriocins require specific
approval as food preservatives.
Among the bacteriocins produced by LAB, nisin
produced by Lactococcus lactis spp., is the only bac-
teriocin that has been officially employed in the food
industry and its use has been approved worldwide [19,24,
25]. Bacteriocins produced by wild L. lactis strains
isolated from traditional starter free-cheese made from
raw milk were reported as nisin A, nisin Z and lactocco-
cin 972 [26]. L. lactis W8 produced nisin concomitantly
when used to produce dahi, a traditional Indian fer-
mented milk. Dahi prepared using L. lactis W8 showed
inhibitory against L. monocytogenes ATCC 19111, Sal-
monella typhimurium ATCC 23565, Enterobacter aero-
genes ATCC 13048 and Vibrio cholerae, however there
was no inhibitory activity when cell-free supernatant of
heat-treated dahi was used. L. lactis W8 appeared as a
potent starter culture for production of fermented milk
products of safe quality. Milk fermented with L. lactis
W8 can be used as a rich source of nisin for commercial
purposes [27]. Pediocin PA-1 produced by Pediococcus
acidilactici is an equally promising biopreservative in
foods as nisin. However, its indusrial scale production
has not been taken up yet due to lack of a comparable
scale of production. To improve pediocin production
heterologous systems have been studied which have used
a variety of promoters for enhanced expression, secretory
proteins for fusion and peptide tags to facilitate puri-
fication. Pediocin is also an attractive antimicrobial agent
against many pathogenic bacteria and hence has phar-
maceutic application [28].
2.2. Flavor Formation
There are variety of fermented milk products available in
the market from different parts of the world. Variation
OPEN ACCESS
437
may due to the different technology applied and strains
of LAB used. Cheese is among fermented milk products
with high variety and may be classified based on
different criteria that include the contribution of LAB
strains in the ripening process. Starter cultures of LAB
are responsible for the formation of cheese flavor.
Several LAB are widely used and their role can be
divided into starters, and non-starters, including adjunct,
cultures. Main role of starter cultures is to produce acid
during manufacture and also contribute to the ripening
process. Non-starter cultures do not responsible to the
production of acid, but they contribute more during
ripening process. Flavor formation and the characteristics
flavor of individual cheese varieties are develop during
ripening process by both starter and non-starter LAB. All
LAB are active sinergistically to produce specific flavor
of the cheese products (Table 1). Several steps in cheese
flavor development by LAB including metabolism of
lactose, lactate and citrate; lypolysis that liberate free
fatty acids and proteolysis where degradation of casein
followed by amino acid catabolism occured [30]. Effort
to improve the quality of cheese by producing cheese
with specific flavor has been of increasing interest and
researches focusing on the use of potential starters
derived new and powerful technology have been widely
carried out [18,31-33].
The most common LAB cultures used in yoghurt
manufacture is Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactoba-
cillus bulgaricus. They, in association and synegistically,
produce volatile metabolites that determine the flavour of
yoghurt. The mutual benefit between them occured by re-
leasing the amino acids from the milk as well as organic
acids and therefore they produced more lactic acid and
aromatic compounds [34]. Flavour of yoghurt are sup-
ported by various compounds, in which lactic acid re-
presents as the major contributor, and other aroma com-
pounds (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Major aroma compounds in yoghurt [34].
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438 The Role of Lactic Acid Bacteria in Milk Fermentation

Table 1. Major aroma compounds in cheese derived from amino acids [29].

Amino acids Aldehydes Alcohols Carboxylic acids Thyol/divers

Leucine 3-Methylbutanal or Isovaleraldehyde 3-Methylbutanol 3-Methylbutanoic acid or isovaleric acid
Isoleucine 2-Methylbutanal 2-Methylbutanol 2-Methylbutanoic acid
Valine 2-Methylpropanal or isobutyraldehyde 2-Methylpropanol 2-Methylpropanoic acid or isobutyric acid
Phenylalanine Phenylacetaldehyde, benzaldehyde (-2C) Phenylethanol Phenylacetic acid
Tyrosine OH-Phenylacetaldehyde, OH-benzaldehyde (-2C) OH-Phenylethanol OH-Phenylacetic acid p-cresol, phenol
Tryptophane Indol-3-acetaldehyde, indol-3-aldehyde Tryptophol Indol-3-acetic acid Skatole, indole
Methionine 3-Methylthiopropanal, or methional 3-Methylthiopropanol 3-Methylthiopropionic acid Methanethiol

2.2.1. Starter Cultures of Lactic Acid Bacteria for Table 2. The use of L. helveticus as cheese starter [45].
Cheese Production
No Cheese product Type of starter
Starter cultures of LAB can be either mesophilic from the
genera of Lactococcus and Leuconostoc or thermophilic 1. Asiago Natural whey and milk culture
from the genera of Streptococcus and Lactobacillus [35].
2. Canestrato Pugliese Natural whey culture
Among species, Lactococcus lactis [36,37], Streptococ-
cus thermophilus [30,38] and Lactobacillus helveticus 3. Emmental Commercial culture
[36-42] are intensively studied. L. helveticus is speciali- 4. Grana Padano Natural whey culture
zed of milk species and belong to the member of dairy
niche species [43,44] Several cheese products are based 5. Gruyère Commercial culture
on L. helveticus as starter (Table 2). It is also known that 6. Montasio Natural whey culture
L. helveticus have significant role in production of spe-
cific flavor compounds in Italian cheese types [46,47] 7. Mozzarella Natural culture and commercial culture
and debittering of cheese [48,49]. 8. Parmigiano Reggiano Natural culture

9. Pecorino Romano Natural culture in scotta

2.2.2. Non Starter Cultures of Lactic Acid Bacteria
Non starter LAB play important role in cheese ripening. 10. Pecorino Sardo Natural whey and milk culture
Non starter LAB released enzymes that participate in the
11. Pecorino Siciliano Natural whey culture
basic role of the transformation of curd in cheese. Since
the population of non starter LAB is uncontrol, it is 12. Provolone Italiano Natural whey culture
suggested that selection of strains to be developed to 13. Sbrinz Commercial culture
maintain a certain cheese flavour [50]. In traditional
cheeses, their flavor intensity also from the non-starter 14. Taleggio Commercial culture
LAB [51].
the health property generating from consumption of fer-
2.3. Texture Development mented milk products. Bioactive peptides produced from
Youghurt is a special fermented milk product which have hydrolysis of casein in milk generated by L. helveticus
a texture of soft and thicker compare to that of its raw have been reviewed and showed effect of antihyperten-
material, the milk. The mild acid with pleasant fresh taste sive, immunomodulatory activity, anti-cancer and cal-
supported characteristics of yoghurt as an extraordinary cium binding ability. L. helveticus is known as one of
fermented milk product. The texture of yoghurt is sup- LAB which has efficient proteolytic system [7]. Fermen-
ported by production of exopolysaccharides (EPS), as ted milk products are reported to contribute to human
viscosifying agent, produced by LAB. It is also sug- health through several mechanisms [2] LAB are in the
gested that is contributed by coagulation, as a result of first rank of listed organisms as species used in probiotic
neutralisation of the negative charges on the milk pro- preparation. LAB, in general, showed to possess most of
teins, as another effect of acid produced by LAB. EPS is the requirements for strains to be called as probiotics.
produced by some of LAB, depending on the strain [52]. [53-57]. Fermented milk products with their beneficial
effect are presented in Table 3.
2.4. Health-promoting Property of Lactic Acid
Bacteria 3. Concluding Remarks
The high demand of fermented milk products is due to LAB are widely applied to several milk products due to

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 The Role of Lactic Acid Bacteria in Milk Fermentation 439

Table 3. Functional benefit of fermented milk products using lactic acid bacteria.

Product name Origin Culture Functional benefit Reference

Nutrition and immune function for
Probiotic yogurt Ontario, Canada L. rhamnosus CAN-1 [58]
people living with HIV
Mix ewe’s and Antakya-Hatay, S. thermophilus and L. delbrueckii subsp.
High short chain free fatty acids [59]
goat’s milk yoghurt Turkey bulgaricus (codes: CH-1 and YF-333)
L. plantarum, L. brevis
Ayran (yoghurt
Turkey L. paracasei subsp. paracasei, High exopolysacharide [60]
from goat milk)
L. casei subsp. pseudoplantarum
S. thermophilus, L. lactis subsp. lactis
Gioddu, traditional
L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus,
fermented sheep or Sardinian, Italy Probiotic [61]
L. casei subsp. casei,
goat milk
L. mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides

Tarag Mongolia L. helveticus, L. lactis subsp. lactis, L.casei Probiotic [62]

Maintenance treatment for myelopathy/tropical
Fermented milk Japan L. casei strain Shirota [63]
spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) patients
Koumiss from
Italy L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus S. thermophilus Antiallergic [64]
mare’s milk
Lben Marocco Spontaneously/not identified Low fat and high calcium traditional product [65]

Enriched of Angiotensin-I Converting

Functional
Italy L. lactis DIBCA2, L. plantarum PU11 Enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory peptides and G-amino [66]
fermented milk
butyric acid (GABA)

Kumis West Colombia E. faecalis, E. faecium ACE Inhibitor [67]

Ewe milk,
Iran L. brevis cholesterol reduction [68]
traditional yoghurt
L. plantarum, L. fermentum,
Maasai Kenya Diarrhoea and constipation [69]
L. acidophillus, L. paracasei
L. curvatus, L. plantarum,
Suusac Kenya L. salivarius, L. raffinolactis [70]
Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides.

their specific properties. Both starter and non-starter are
promising cultures to be explored in fermented milk
manufacture. Considering the important status as GRAS
microorganisms, LAB can be used widely in the de-
veloping of new fermented milk product.
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